Question about fuel and AI skill

I have two questions that probably relate to all of the F1 games, but what the hey.

I am racing 50% career (and doing mighty poorly, I might add) and when I am in the garage before the start of the race, the display tells me I have, for example, enough fuel for 58 laps though I'm only running 29. I suspect I need a full load because the game handles the fuel as though I were running the full 58 laps. So I wouldn't want to start a 50% race on a half load, correct?

Second question is about the AI skill. On two consecutive races, I was spun around in a corner by an AI car clipping me from behind. On the second race, by the time I got turned around, I had dropped from 7th to 22nd. I should note that I've returned to F1 sim racing after many years of being away from it so I'm really green. But it made me wonder if setting the AI level to amateur/novice is actually worse for me than if they were better and more skilled. The more skilled AI would be obviously harder to beat but might be more tolerant of my shenanigans. So, starting out, is it better to race against the unskilled or the pros because the pros are less likely to make a mistake and "take you out?"

Retired ModeratorPremium

Hi, sorry I will have to make this a quick message, as I'm short of time but :-

1/ When you run a 50% race, you start the race with 100% fuel, but burn it twice as fast. A 25% race would burn it four times as fast. This means that no matter how long the race is, you get the feel of a car with a full tank, that gets lighter as the race progresses.

2/ AI level should be regarded as their race pace, not their driving skill. You'Il get used to how they race, the lines they take, their braking points, and how they will react to your close proximity. You will almost always get them by late braking into slow corners.